Rhino will provide game day event management services at Wake Forest football games

Former Wake Forest Assistant Athletic Director Brett Hickman will join Rhino as vice president of operations

July 12, 2012

WINSTON-SALEM, NC - The Wake Forest Athletic Department announced its new partnership with with Rhino Sports & Entertainment Services. Rhino will provide game day services at Demon Deacon football games starting this season.

An outgrowth of the Winston-Salem Dash, Rhino offers a wide range of event management services for sports and entertainment facilities, including ticket takers, ushers, parking and gate attendants, security staff and general game-day operations.

"We are very excited about our relationship with Rhino Sports & Entertainment Services, especially as it relates to our fans' experiences at our football games," Wake Forest athletic director Ron Wellman said. "We are determined to make every fan's experience a highlight event for them, and Rhino will undoubtedly help us in that effort."

"Together, Wake Forest Athletics and Rhino will create the best game day college football experience in America, bar none," Rhino president Geoff Lassiter said. "It's truly an honor to have Wake Forest as our first client, and we believe it reflects very positively on Wake Forest's commitment to Winston-Salem that they selected a local business to provide game day services."

Rhino enlisted The Budd Group as its strategic partner to provide security services for Wake Forest Athletics. In addition, Rhino has hired Brett Hickman, who formerly served as the Assistant Athletic Director for Event Management and Facilities at Wake Forest, to serve as vice president of operations.

Rhino will achieve its customer service goals by hiring highly qualified employees who consistently work at similar jobs at Dash games, Wake Forest football games and for future clients of the company. Rhino also is committed to retaining qualified employees who worked for the company previously contracted by Wake Forest Athletics to supply game day services.

Lassiter said that after hiring employees who worked for Wake Forest's previous provider and current Dash employees, Rhino probably will still need to recruit additional employees. Rhino will have a job fair on July 14th from 9am-Noon at BB&T Field (Wake Forest's football stadium). Please send job inquiries to employment@rhino-ses.com. Lassiter and several other employees of Sports Menagerie, the parent organization of the Dash, will extend their current roles to work for Rhino as well.

"Rhino will hire, train, and provide incentives for our team to create a fan experience that rivals - and exceeds - the fan experiences of any university facility in the United States," Lassiter said. "Our vision to create a world-class customer service organization extends to the region, state and nationally. Ours is not just a Rhino and Wake Forest Athletics initiative, it is a Winston-Salem initiative."

Rhino plans to market its event management services to universities, municipalities and other organizations across the Piedmont Triad and, eventually, beyond.

"We've built an incredible customer service organization at the Dash by associating ourselves with the best in every way, maintaining strong and clear principles and fostering a culture of constant self-evaluation," Lassiter said. "An example of our philosophy of associating with the best is our outreach to the Disney Institute - widely regarded as the best customer service organization in America - to provide training for all Dash employees, both full-time and part-time.

"With the addition of Wake Forest Athletics, more of our employees will have year-round job opportunities, which is a tremendous boost for their professional development and, ultimately, means a better game day experience for the fans we serve," he added. "Many of the familiar faces you've come to know at Dash games also will be serving Wake Forest football fans on game days and will quickly join the rest of us in chanting, `Go Deacs!'"

Dates to remember:
Saturday, July 14 from 9am-Noon: Job Fair at Bridger Field House of BB&T Field

July 16, 17 or 26 from 6pm-8pm: New Employee Mandatory Orientation (choose one day)